I've argued with bulimics, teeth corroded into nubs by vomiting up stomach acid, who swore they couldn't stop because bingeing and purging was the only way to fill up the cavernous hole in their soul and still fit into their jeans.

One 12-year-old was downing 50 laxatives a day; another, a 15-year-old dancer, had lost over 10 lbs in a few months -- she was now 5' 7 and 105 lbs; a 13-year-old had been secretly bingeing and vomiting for at least six months.